As my quiet time ended this morning, the words “Abide in Me” came to mind. When I referenced them with scripture, I found John 15 vs 4: “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me”. As the word ‘abide’ was not one that I was familiar with, I searched the internet for its definition and the following came up: dwell, pursue, persist, linger, rest, remain, and stay.
Based on the above, I believe that to abide in the Lord means to dwell in Him (Psalm 91 vs 1: He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty). I believe that it means to pursue the Lord and the things of His kingdom; to persist in doing His will and His work; to linger in His presence; to find rest in Him; to remain rooted in Him; and to stay in His kingdom.
If we do not abide in our Heavenly Father, we can not bear the fruit if His Spirit mentioned in Galatians 5 vs 22 – 23 (But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law). And without these characteristics in our lives, it will be very difficult to lead a Christian life and show God’s love to others.
I believe that abiding in the Lord is a heart condition. When I first received these words, I thought that I was “abiding in the Lord”. I was participating in online church, reading the word, and praying twice a day. I had even stopped watching TV and YouTube in favour of “spending time with God”. But as I thought about these words (“Abide in Me”), I came to an unpleasant realisation… Many a time, during my quiet times with the Lord, my mind was adrift, and my heart was not present. And it was likewise with online church and reading the word.
With this, came the realisation of why I was still struggling with certain issues and mindsets – it was never about a need to abstain from TV or YouTube. To abide in our Heavenly Father requires a presence of our hearts and minds when we spend time with Him in prayer – be it interceding or listening for a word from His Holy Spirit. It requires focus and concentration when we read His word – we need to process the scriptures and ensure that we entrench them in our hearts (Proverbs 3 vs 1 – 3 and Proverbs 7 vs 1 – 3).
This is a difficult one to carry out… I believe that abiding in the Lord means to make Him God of every day and not just Sunday when we have church or Wednesday when we have home-cell. It is only when we truly abide in our Heavenly Father, that change will come as our hearts and minds are transformed by Him.